Astronomers have spotted the most distant comet ever discovered

^{Published on 2025-03-11 16:02:23 - Astronomy}

This is the fourth comet Gr
ller has discovered, but given its extraordinary distance, it was the most exciting find, he says. Although the Catalina Sky Survey's main job is finding near-Earth asteroids, comets do occasionally show up in the data, and "it's a nice perk of this job that we get a comet named after us," he says.

The article from Astronomy.com discusses the discovery of the most distant comet ever observed, named Comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS). This comet was first spotted in May 2017 when it was already beyond the orbit of Saturn, at a distance of about 16 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. By the time of the article's publication, it had moved closer to 6.3 AU. The comet's nucleus is estimated to be between 18 to 100 kilometers in diameter, making it one of the largest known. Observations indicate that the comet began sublimating its ices and forming a coma at an unprecedented distance of 23.7 AU, suggesting it contains highly volatile ices like carbon monoxide or dioxide. This early activity provides astronomers with a unique opportunity to study the composition and behavior of comets at great distances from the Sun, offering insights into the early Solar System's conditions.

Read the Full Astronomy Article at:
[ https://www.astronomy.com/science/astronomers-have-spotted-the-most-distant-comet-ever-discovered/ ]

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Astronomers have spotted the most distant comet ever discovered